Count to Ten
by Melanie Preston
Summary: Tori's life was that of a typical Londoner. She had a job, a house, and a cat. Nothing special. But things changed when the Doctor rolled into town. He grabbed her by the hand and, just like that, tugged her on an adventure. The Doctor was just looking for a companion, but has he found more than that with Tori? Read and find out... ;)


_Rose's bottom lip quivered and her chin crinkled miserably. "I-I love you."_

_The Doctor's hearts skipped at this, but his response was a chuckle. "Quite right, too…" He was quiet for a moment, choosing his words carefully although he knew his time in Rose's dimension was growing shorter with each passing second. "And I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it..." He looked up at the blonde London girl he had grown to adore so completely. "Rose Tyler, I-"_

_But it was too late. The Doctor faded away before he could finish his sentence, Rose lost to him forever. He forced his mouth shut, jaw trembling. A single drop of liquid sorrow and regret slid down his cheek and onto the Tardis's dusty floor. He released a heavy, shaky sigh and, head down, slowly made his way over to the console of his time machine and flipped the switch. The engines of the TARDIS creaked and groaned into motion with what seemed to be reluctance, as if the TARDIS itself had been attached to Rose as well. However, it too left her behind and launched itself into the time vortex._

**September 23, 2007 – One month later**

A high-pitched ringing noise ripped me away from my slumber. Groggily, I slapped the snooze button with what force I could muster and rolled over. I knew I had to get up and shower; to get ready for another boring day of the same old routine in the bustling city of London, England; to repeat the cycle of my life for another day without doing a damn thing about it.

After about five minutes I finally managed to drag myself out of bed and plodded over to my wardrobe. T-shirt, khakis, work shoes, burgundy hat. My uniform for work was about as drab as it got. In the forty-five minutes that followed, I showered, dried my rat's nest that I called hair, applied a bit of mascara, scarfed down a meager excuse for breakfast, fed the cat, and grudgingly made my way out the door.

This was the pattern that every day of my life seemed to follow. I knew something had to change, but I had no idea how I was going to do it with minimum wage and no passport. If I couldn't even keep a relationship, how was I supposed to keep plans for the rest of my life?

Sighing, I boarded the city bus. It was crowded, as usual, but it offered some solace to cure the lonely longing in my heart. Dr. Ison was busy with his morning paper and name-brand coffee. The Ericson twins were goofing off again, throwing things to the front of the bus while their mother was on a business call with a company in Japan. Gordy, a kindly older gentleman, was talking to me about nothing important, but I didn't mind. It was those little things in my day that made getting up in the morning worth _something_.

However, it was the system that I followed every day of every week and the system that I had been following for the past three years. Get up, go to work, go home, and go to bed. A sigh escaped me and I turned my attention to the world zipping by outside. The little shops were a blur of light at the people were seemingly oblivious to their surroundings. A bell rang shortly, though, and a robotic voice called my stop. I gathered my things, said "good-bye" to Gordy, and stepped off to enter the brick Allstate building.

All was normal until around three o'clock. At that time, a strange customer sauntered into the workplace. He wore a long brown coat with a white-and-blue striped undershirt, a brown tie, a pair of nicer brown pants, and red Converse. What struck me most, however, was his hair. It was a dark brown and on the messy side, but it was a _fun_ kind of messy. It added character to his already bright face, and tempted my inner romantic to run her fingers through its soft locks.

He also appeared to be on some sort of mission. He strode right past the welcome desk, ignoring the clerk, and into the cubicles. Catching my gaze on a sideways glance, he backed up and leaned on the cubicle wall with a rather charming grin on his face. "Hello there." Walking over, he extended a hand. I took it carefully and stood. Without warning, his smile broadened. "Come with me!"

And just like that, I was whisked away by this strange man, this mad man with the luxurious hair and the charming grin. He tugged me out of the office and into the blinding light of midday in Piccadilly Circle. I was pulled along the street and ushered into an alley, where he slowed to a stop. Turning to me, he had that wild grin and his deep brown eyes were blazing with excitement. "Would you like to go on an adventure? With me? I'd be ever so grateful."

My excitement quickly faded, and I hesitated. I had no idea who this crazy man was. Pulling my hand away from his, I muttered, "I'm sorry, sir. I don't even know your name…"

At this the peculiar man laughed. "Of course! How could I forget the most important thing? I'm the Doctor."

"The Doctor? Doctor Who?"

"Just the Doctor." His smile grew once again. "What's your name then, Madame Fussy Britches?"

I couldn't help but smile at his cheeky comment, but I was still puzzled by his name as I replied, "Victoria Finch, but Tori is fine." I paused for a moment. "What kind of adventure?"

The Doctor took my hand again. "One you won't want to miss." He took off again, dragging me around corners, up and down slopes, and across an array of streets and parks until I had lost all sense of direction.

We finally stopped at an old 1950s Police Public Call Box, which stood just behind a post office on the outskirts of London. The Doctor cracked the door, and grinned another maddening grin. "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what? It's just an old Police Box."

"Oh, but it's much more than that." The Doctor opened it all the way and pulled me across the threshold, shutting the door behind me.

Right before my eyes was a large, elaborate machine with a load of tools and contraptions and whatchamacallits and doodads and all sorts of crazy things. One thing that stood out, though, was the size. It was bigger on the inside. "What does it do? There must be a reason it's bigger…"

"It can take you anywhere. Anywhere in time and space."

I couldn't believe my ears. "Anywhere?" I asked in awe, trailing a hand across the wall.

Looking up, I caught a warm smile from the Doctor. "Anywhere. What do you say?"

I beamed back and squeezed his hand lightly. "Let's do this."

It all started right then. The first day of the rest of my life with that fantastic mad man. _That mad man with a box._


End file.
